Garment hanger shoulder cover



Dec. 27, 1966 E M ETAL 3,294,296

GARMENT HANGER SHOULDER COVER Filed June 19, 1964 INVENTOR. 5p 22 100/6 GEL/HAN BY JA K ZAMF/VJUA United States Patent 3,294,296 GARMENT HANGER SHOULDER COVER Louis Gelman and Jack Levenson, Brooklyn, N.Y., assigners to Neet-A-Pak Products, Brooklyn, N. Y. Fiied June 19, 1964, Ser. No. 376,425 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-98) The present invention relates generally to garment hangers and particularly to a hanger guard or cover formed of cardboard or the like for use in cooperation with a wire garment hanger to provide a wide shoulder support area for garments hung on the hangers.

Although conventional wire garment hangers have achieved extremely widespread use in commerce, there are essential disadvantages associated with their use which have been the object of many attempts to produce improvements. Among the most significant of these disadvantages is the relatively small supporting surface which such a wire surface provides for the garment carried by the hanger. It is well known that a garment will retain its shape for a longer period of time and will look better if it is hung on a hanger of the sculptured or contoured type wherein the shoulder supporting areas of the hangers correspond to the shape of the wearers shoulders. It is for this reason that the very expensive contoured hangers are generally employed in quality hotels, high priced mens haberdashery shops and the like.

The present invention has, as one of its objects, the avoidance of the frustration of receiving a freshly cleaned and pressed garment which, due to its being 'hung upon a conventional wire hanger, has become creased along the shoulder lines and has lost its freshly pressed appearance.

Financial considerations have largely governed the choice of dry cleaning and manufacturing establishments utilizing conventional wire hangers since such devices are by far the least expensive available devices. In the past, attempts have been made to provide cardboard hanger covers to broaden the support area of the hangers, thereby to lessen the aforementioned disadvantages; however, these cardboard devices have not been completely successful.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sheet material hanger cover for use in conjunction with a wire garment hanger. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a hanger cover which provides a wide area for supporting the shoulders of a garment placed upon a hanger.

It is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide means for use in connection with a wire garment hanger whereby a flared or con-toured shoulder supporting area is provided which has a relatively sharp curve adjacent the center of the hanger and flares outwardly to produce a broad area of shoulder support adjacent the outer extremities of the hanger.

In accordance with one presently preferred embodiment to the present invention, there is provided a wire hanger cover for use in combination with a conventional wire hanger, comprising a body of paper board material which has a pair of elongated parallel side edges and a pair of curved end edges joining the side edges. A central hookreceiving opening is formed at the center of the hanger cover, the hanger cover being divided, on longitudinally opposed sides of the central opening, into first and second hanger cover portions. Fold lines are formed in the body on each transverse side of the central opening, which fold lines extend from the respective parallel side edges to central opening. Two such fold lines are provided on each transverse side of the central opening and are positioned at an angle to each other defining the pair of triangular construction areas, each of which has a base line along respective parallel side edges of the body and side legs formed by the respective fold lines. When the shoulder hanger cover is in its operative relationship with a wire hanger, the hook portion of the hanger extends upwardly through the central opening of the cover and the body of the cover is folded at the respective fold lines with the triangular construction areas interposed between the first and second hanger cover portions, such that the pair of triangular construction areas are parallel to each other and parallel to the immediately adjacent areas of the first and second hanger cover portions. A securement element may be provided extending through the transversely op posed construction areas, binding same together about the wire hanger such that the wire hanger cover is formed with a relatively sharp side to-side curve in the area adjacent the middle of the hanger cover and flares outwardly to a relatively gentle side-to-side curve in the area adjacent the outer extremities of the hanger cover, thereby to produce -a flared supporting surface for the shoulders of a garment supported on the wire hanger and hanger cover.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be best appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of one presently preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cardboard hanger cover in accordance with the present invention shown in its flat, unfolded, or inoperative position;

FIG. 2 is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 1 illustrating the hanger cover shown in its partially folded position;

FIG. 3 is an exploded and elevational view of the hanger cover of FIG. 1 shown in combination with a conventional wire hanger and illustrating the placement of the hanger cover over the wire hanger;

FIG. 4 is an elevational View generally similar to FIG. 3, but showing the hanger cover in assembled configuration about the upper supporting surfaces of the wire hanger and illustrating the use of securement means; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 a hanger construction generally designated by the numeral 10, which includes a conventional wire hanger in combination with a hanger cover which is generally designated by the numeral 14. The wire hanger 12 is of conventional type and includes a hook portion 16, a pair of inclined shoulder-supporting portions 18, 20 which join at their upper ends at the hook portion 16 and a cross bar 22 which joins the lower ends of the inclined shoulder-supporting portions 18, 20.

The hanger shoulder cover 14 is elongated in overall configuration and has a pair of generaltly parallel side edges 24, 26 which are joined by curved end edges 28, 30. The cover 14 is formed of a reasonably stiif but, nevertheless, pliable sheet material such as paper board.

A central opening 32 is formed at the center of the body of the cover 14 and includes a circular hole 34 and a longitudinal slit 36. The slit 36 is provided so that the hook portion 16 of the hanger 12 may be easily inserted through the central opening 32 and the circular hole 34 is provided to allow clearance for the conventional twisted stem portion 16a of the hanger hook 16'.

Two pairs of told lines are formed on transversely opposite sides of the central opening 32, thereby to define two triangular construction areas 38, 40 on the transversely opposed sides of the cover 14. Specifically, on the side of the cover 14 adjacent side edge 24 there is formed a first fold line 42 perpendicular to the side edge 24 and extending from that side edge into the central opening 32. A second fold line 44 is formed adjacent fold line 42 and at an angle thereto extending from the side edge 24 into the central opening 32 thus forming the right triangular construction area 38 bounded by a portion of the side edge 24 as its base and the fold lines 42, 44 as its legs. Similarly, on the transversely opposite side of the shoulder cover 14 there are formed fold lines 46, 48 similar to fold lines 42, 44, respectively, which define the triangular construction area 40. For purposes of definition and description, the portions of the hanger cover 14 on longitudinally opposite sides of the central opening 32 and outside of the triangular construction area 38, 40 are referred to herein as the first hanger cover portion 50, which is the area to the left of the central opening 3-2 as viewed in FIG. 1, and the second hanger cover portion 52, which is the area to the right of the central opening 32 as viewed in FIG. 1.

The folding of the hanger cover 14 from the flat configuration as shown in FIG. 1 to the operative configuration as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is progressively illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The material of the cover is folded along the fold lines 42, 44 and 46, 48 such that the triangular construction areas 38, 40 are initially perpendicular to the first and second hanger sections 50 52 and finally are brought into parallel orientation with those first and second sections in the regions immediately adjacent construction areas 3-8, 40. As the material of the hanger shoulder cover 14 is folded at the fold lines 42, 44 and 46, 48, each of the two side portions 50, 52 is automatically curved from side to side. The initial curving of the hanger cover 14 may be seen in section 52 of the hanger illustrated in FIG. 2. Continued folding of the hanger body along the fold lines forces the section 50 to assume a similar curved state as generally illustrated in FIG. 3. At that stage of construction the construction areas 38, 40 are held completely within the overlapped regions of the first and second hanger sections 50, 52.

The hanger cover 14 is then positioned about a hanger, such a hanger 12 shown in FIG. 3, by insertion of the hanger hook 16 upwardly through the central opening 32 and specifically by passing the hanger hook 16 through the slotted opening 36 with the stem 16a of the hanger hook 16 extending through the circular hole 34. The hanger cover 14 may be secured about the hanger 12 by the placement of a staple, as at 54 in FIG. 4, which securely holds the transversely opposite sides of the hanger cover 14 together at the midpoint of the assembly.

It will be appreciated from studying FIGS. 4 and 5 that when the hanger cover 14 is positioned on a hanger 16, it provides a broad shoulder-supporting area for garments and is generally similar in the surface appearance to the surface of the sculptured and contoured hangers customarily found in quality haberdashery shops. Specifically, the supporting area of the hanger cover 14 is quite broad at the extremities of the cover and is narrower in the regions adjacent the hanger hook. Stated differently, a cross sectional view of the hanger cover 14 will show a relatively sharp side-to-side curve in the central area of the hanger cover and a relatively flatter side-to-side curve in the regions adjacent the outer edges of the hanger cover. Of course, if the staple 54 or other fastening means is omitted, the transversely opposite sides of the cover 14 will not be pulled sharply together and the cover 14 will be held on the hanger 12 simply by the weight of the cover and the weight of the supported garment. Nevertheless, the important advantages of the present invention will still be provided.

The description given above and the drawings presented herewith show only one illustrative embodiment of the present invention. It will be appreciated that this hanger cover is extremely simple to manufacture since it involves a simple external stamping and the formation of two linear score lines. Furthermore, the hanger cover is extremely simple to form into its operative shape and to combine same with the conventional wire hanger for use in supporting gar-ments. The hanger cover has the further advantage of being extremely compact when in its unfabricated condition and is free from extending tabs, straps, etc., which would interfere with easy storage. Combined with these features is the most important feature of the provision of a broad and flared area for shoulder support of a garment, which feature forms an intrinsic part of the construction in accordance with the present invention.

Although merely one illustrative example of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein, a variety of design alterations can be made without departing from the basic teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the following claim should not be deemed restricted to the particular illustrative embodiment presented herein, but should be construed broadly in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

A hanger shoulder cover for a wire hanger comprising a single fiat sheet of paper board material having parallel side edges and curved end edges joining said side edges, said cover being formed with a central opening for receipt of the hook portion of the wire hanger and a slit parallel to said side edges, said slit being bisected by said central opening, a single transverse fold line formed at the center of said cover perpendicular to and between two side edges, intersecting said central opening and defining first and second cover sections on opposite sides thereof, and a single pair of angled fold lines formed on one side of said transverse fold line, each of said angled fold lines extending from said central opening to one of said side edges forming a triangular construction area bounded by said transverse fold line, said angled fold line and said one side edge, said cover being free of any fold lines other than said single transverse fold line and said pair of angled fold lines on one side of said single transverse fold line, said cover being folded at said transverse and angled fold lines to bring said triangular construction areas into interposed relation between portions of said first and second cover sections, said triangular construction areas being coextensive when said cover is folded, and securement means interconnecting the material on transversely opposite sides of said central opening, said securement means extending in a straight line through each of said coextensive triangular construction areas pinching said cover together with said two triangular construction areas in substantially parallel orientation to form a contoured hanger cover.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,025,291 12/1935 Linney 223-98 2,353,839 7/1944 McFall 223-98 2,841,316 7/1958 Johnson 223-98 3,027,056 3/1962 Taff 22398 3,033,430 5/1962 Zintel 223-98 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

